The Blessings Of Pilgrimage

And it shall be, that whoever will not come up of all the families of the earth to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even on them shall be no rain. Zachariah 14:17 (AKJV). There have been many spiritual and physical interpretations of this passage. Rain symbolizes the blessings for which we pray. Could it be that God is angry with Christians who fail to heed this injunction? Many Christians go to Church and read their Bibles, but often forget to avail themselves of the promises of Christian pilgrimage as contained in the above passage. More tragic is the fact that some fail to separate pilgrimage from tourism. The result is that they too are not blessed. In this book, we take you step-by-step in the spiritual journey to the Holy Land that never goes out of fashion. The holiness of Israel as the Promised Land is evident in the several spiritual sites you will encounter. You get a glimpse of the marvelous miracles of God. This book also helps the pilgrim to stay focused in order to be blessed. It is an inseparable guide to the pilgrim in need of additional ecclesiastic literature.

Exploring the distinctive nature and role of local pilgrimage traditions among Muslims and Catholics, Muslim and Catholic Pilgrimage Practices draws particularly on south central Java, Indonesia. In this area, the hybrid local Muslim pilgrimage culture is shaped by traditional Islam, the Javano-Islamic sultanates, and the Javanese culture with its strong Hindu-Buddhist heritage. This region is also home to a vibrant Catholic community whose identity formation has occurred in a way that involves complex engagements with Islam as well as Javanese culture. In this respect, local pilgrimage tradition presents itself as a rich milieu in which these complex engagements have been taking place between Islam, Catholicism, and Javanese culture. Employing a comparative theological and phenomenological analysis, this book reveals the deeper religio-cultural and theological import of pilgrimage practice in the identity formation and interaction among Muslims and Catholics in south central Java. In a wider context, it also sheds light on the larger dynamics of the complex encounter between Islam, Christianity and local cultures.

Nationalistic meccas, shrines to popular culture, and sacred traditions for the world's religions from Animism to Zoroastrianism are all examined in two accessible and comprehensive volumes. Pilgrimage is a comprehensive compendium of the basic facts on Pilgrimage from ancient times to the 21st century. Illustrated with maps and photographs that enrich the reader's journey, this authoritative volume explores sites, people, activities, rites, terminology, and other matters related to pilgrimage such as economics, tourism, and disease. Encompassing all major and minor world religions, from ancient cults to modern faiths, this work covers both religious and secular pilgrimage sites. Compiled by experts who have authored numerous books on pilgrimage and are pilgrims in their own right, the entries will appeal to students, scholars, and general readers.

This prayer book provides essential sustenance for readers wanting to take a pilgrimage to a holy place. Whether the journey is physical or spiritual, God at Every Gate enables readers to discover and celebrate Christ's presence every step of the way.

A pilgrim spirituality for Holy Land travel, Jerusalem Bound resources the Christian traveler with biblical, historical, and contemporary images of the pilgrim life. Integrating historical sources, on-the-ground experience, and the voices of global pilgrims, Jerusalem Bound presents a fresh approach to pilgrimage, explores pilgrim identity and the Holy Land experience, offers ideas for Holy Land travel, and encourages pilgrims to focus upon the Other as much as themselves. Unique among Holy Land resources, Jerusalem Bound discusses material that is seldom addressed on a Holy Land journey: the motives of Holy Land pilgrims, the history of the Christian Holy Land, understanding the holy sites, pilgrim practices, material objects, and the challenges of Holy Land pilgrimage. Emphasizing the incarnational nature of lived experience, the book encourages pilgrims to derive meaning in both the highs and lows of religious travel. Attentive to the transformational nature of pilgrimage, Jerusalem Bound is ultimately interested in Christian formation and the aftermath of the Holy Land journey.

Through case studies of three pilgrimage sites related to the Virgin Mary, this book explores how pilgrimage places in today’s globalized world do not exist as contained spaces but have porous boundaries, both physically and conceptually. Taking an interdisciplinary approach that draws on art history and heritage studies, the book considers the cathedral of Chartres, France; Medjugorje in Bosnia and Herzegovina; and the House of Mary near Ephesus, Turkey. In all three sites, the place of pilgrimage accommodates multiple different purposes and groups of people, intermingling devotional and commercial aspects, different memory narratives, and heterogeneous audiences. By mapping these porous boundaries, the book calls into question how we define pilgrimage place, and shows how pilgrimage sites are not set apart from the everyday world, but intimately connected with wider cultural, political, and material dynamics. This study will be relevant to scholars engaging with issues of pilgrimage, cultural heritage, and art across religious studies, art history, anthropology, and sociology.